Builder Adds Details On Indoor Ski Run, Aqua Park

That was the only term she could find to adequately describe a European developer's proposal to build a 20-story indoor ski run and aqua park costing more than $350 million.

Tom Stewart, president of Snow Valley International of London, told town officials his investment group and several local landowners are proposing a totally enclosed, year-round operation on about 160 acres near I-291 and Route 5.

The project would include:

* A 20-story complex with a restaurant at the top.

* An indoor mountain with five ski trails and manmade snow.

* A 90-meter ski jump.

* An adjoining arena for sports events.

* Hotel rooms.

* An aqua park with swimming and diving pools.

Although Stewart has never been involved in a project of this magnitude, he spoke confidently about the proposal and its private investors who are working with several landowners in town. Stewart would not disclose the investors' names.

Stewart flew in to the Hartford area to visit with the South Windsor landowners and talk about the European investors in the project.

Kip and Tim Shepard, two brothers who head J.E. Shepard Co. of South Windsor, a longtime tobacco- growing company, own much of the land where the complex would be built and are working with Stewart and his group.

Kip Shepard said the main purpose of Stewart's visit was to demonstrate the financial wherewithal of Snow Valley International.

``I am very confident about them,'' he said after the meeting.

Stewart said it was too early to disclose the identities of the investors because the project has to first win the approval of local officials.

But Stewart emphasized that the money is there.

``We don't want any state funding,'' he said. ``We do not require it.''

Town Manager Matthew B. Galligan said Tuesday the land is zoned for the type of activity that is being proposed.

The project would also require the approval of the state Department of Transportation because of the traffic that would be generated.

The South Windsor site is the same one that had been proposed last year as an alternate home for the Hartford Whalers. The team eventually moved to North Carolina.

The site is made up of several parcels, most of them owned by the Shepards. Kip Shepard said he has an option to buy the adjoining parcels if the project is approved.

Stewart said Snow Valley had considered buying the now-closed Rentschler airfield in East Hartford, which is owned by Pratt & Whitney. The group decided to look for another site when Six Flags amusement parks expressed interest in buying the airfield. Stewart said the Six Flags park and Snow Valley could have complemented each other.

Shepard said the South Windsor project would be built over three years and generate 1,200 to 1,500 construction jobs. About 1,500 full-time jobs would be created to run the operation.

The snow mountain would consist of five ski trails, an elite trail built to World Cup skiing standards and a 90-meter ski jump. The trails would accommodate skiers at all levels of expertise as well as snowboarders. A rock-climbing wall also is planned.

The tropical aqua park would feature an air-conditioned theme city with an aquarium, hydrotubes, a lake-style swimming pool, swimming and diving pools built to Olympic specifications, a surfing wave pool and a special pool for children.

The concept of indoor skiing has interested developers for the past 10 years, but only one exists in the United States -- in Spokane, Wash.

In 1993, the Tokyo Skidome opened in Japan with two chairlifts and two trails. Billed as the world's largest indoor ski facility, it looks something like an aircraft hangar tilted on one side. One of the trails is 1,640 feet long with a vertical drop of about 270 feet.

Also in the Hartford area, a group of Farmington Valley developers have proposed a $30 million ``sports village'' in Canton that would include an indoor running track and facilities for basketball, baseball, tennis and other sports.